Latest news with #ShayO'Mara
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
OhioHealth collaborating with Ad Council to tackle gun violence
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A Central Ohio hospital system is teaming up with the Ad Council to tackle gun violence -especially when it comes to children. The joint effort aims to spark important conversations between healthcare workers, educators, and families, all with the goal of preventing firearm-related injuries. As part of the initiative, OhioHealth is partnering with the Ad Council to launch a series of public service announcements addressing gun violence and firearm-related deaths. The campaign also features a new resource aimed at helping parents, teachers, and healthcare providers have meaningful conversations about safety and preventing violence. 'This is so important as a health issue crisis in a public health issue that we had to come together and say something we had do something outside of politics outside of laws, but about the safety of children,' Ohio Health Trauma Surgeon Shay O'Mara tells NBC4. For two decades Dr. O'Mara has worked in the high stress field of trauma surgery. He tells NBC4 the prevalence of youth being involved in one that needs to end. 'The number one cause of death under the age of 17 is gunshot wounds and gunshot injuries,' O'Mara says. 'Something has to be done, and we have to do it.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
15-04-2025
- Health
- Axios
OhioHealth joins national youth gun violence prevention campaign
The OhioHealth hospital system has joined over a dozen other health care organizations to form a national initiative to prevent youth gun violence. Why it matters: Firearms have been the leading cause of death for U.S. children ages 1-17 for three years in a row. Driving the news: The newly formed " Agree to Agree" campaign will share tangible actions that individuals and communities can take to reduce firearm injuries among children and teens. The big picture: Agree to Agree aims to "comprehensively address" the issue of gun violence with an apolitical message focusing as much on suicide and unintentional shootings as intentional shootings. Despite suicides making up the majority of gun deaths in America, Shay O'Mara, clinical VP of surgery for OhioHealth Clinical Enterprise, tells Axios that "people aren't talking about potential suicide and potential accidental injuries. All we hear about in the news is homicides." By the numbers: OhioHealth says it treated 423 gunshot wounds last year at its Central Ohio trauma centers and emergency departments. Between the lines: Unlike some movements based around legislation or political change, Agree to Agree is focusing largely on branding and marketing to reach common ground. The nonprofit Ad Council will lead outreach efforts, which O'Mara says is a crucial part of the program. "If you look back at their history — Smokey the Bear, drug campaigns, all the other things they've done — they have actually moved things forward and made a difference because it started a conversation and brought public awareness." Friction point: The campaign's coalition also includes gun owners, and O'Mara says "nobody's interested in" talking about banning or taking any guns. "We're not talking about owning or not owning a gun, we're talking about that gun being used on a child." Zoom in: Partner organizations are leading their own local outreach efforts. OhioHealth's first program will be a lock box giveaway at Grant Medical Center in June, which is Gun Violence Awareness Month.
